An Post returning packages from outside the EU-See 1st post

Hippodrome Song Owl · 27-08-2021 7:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117809001#Comment_117809001

Yes, that is what the tracking on my missing package says. After 3 weeks saying 'Sorted - Dublin Mail Centre' it changed to that. An Post told me (after waiting 1.5 hours on their Chat service) that there is an insufficient customs declaration and that's why. But over a week later and it has not actually returned to the sender and the company cannot get any specific information from An Post about what was wrong.

So what happens next? It seems your package goes missing for weeks in limbo and An Post won't give any information about why they deemed the customs declaration insufficient to either you or the sender. Good luck.

27-08-2021 7:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117654704#Comment_117654704

Or An Post could have delivered it as they're supposed to do.

gerard2210 · 27-08-2021 10:56am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117809141#Comment_117809141

The item was probably still in the USA at that stage. I got the same tracking info a while back, got notification a few days later to say it was leaving an airport in the states, Miami I think.

andrewfaulk · 27-08-2021 11:38am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117808445#Comment_117808445

You really are getting quite obnoxious at this stage.. Just because someone points out(correct) information that doesn't align with what you think, doesn't mean they have nothing to contribute.. A little humility would go a long way..

DXhound2005's link is very helpful as it includes a worked example from the Revenue of how the charges are calculated, I would think most people haven't the slightest notion of this.. If people actually took the time to read the links, there would be a lot less people moaning about being "Robbed" by An Post or other agents filing customs clearance on their behalf..

The constant An Post bashing is really getting old, even more than you still think you are their customer when you are NOT.. You are essentially buying goods from a supplier on terms DAP(Delivered to you Duty and VAT unpaid) or DDP(Delivered to you Duty and VAT paid).. It is up to your supplier to fulfil their end of the contract and deliver the goods to you under the terms of your contract.. They are not forced to use Postal service to do this, they could just as easily use a courier or even a freight forwarder.. But in the instances you are taking offence with, the chose to book with their local postal service(probably because it is the cheapest).. In turn, their local Postal provider passes the shipment on to An Post to complete the necessary customs procedures and deliver to you. An Post's customer is the overseas Postal service with the IPU, not you!

There is no way to be certain, as An Post will never admit to it, but I would imagine what is happening is that An Post have taken a hardline with overseas postal operators and are insisting that they be provided will all the correct information in the correct format required to complete the customs format(if DAP), or the IOSS in the correct format correctly embedded into the Postal tracking barcodes(if DDP).. If this is not available, An Post is returning the package until the correct information is provided by the overseas postal operator.. In the past they might have held onto the package and requested the correct information.. However with the removal of the exemption on VAT on goods valued under €22(this was a massive loop hole being abused by (mainly Chinese) shippers by mis-declaring the value of goods, so the EU closed it, saying this has nothing to do with prejudice before you start again) and Brexit, has meant An Post now has to do customs on a much higher volume of packages..

So An Post has two choices, deal with a massive backlog and an administrative nightmare for ever more due to missing information HS codes etc or refuse shipments missing information now in the hope that other Postal operators will learn their lesson and stop sending forward post that is missing important information.. This is obviously causing a lot of issues for people, but you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs!

So in summary, the issue is most likely with your supplier or their postal service, and unfortunately you are caught in the middle.. You are however perfectly within your rights to insist your supplier resolves the issues satisfactorily for you as you have entered into a contract with them to deliver to you, and they(or their preferred delivery partner) have not upheld this.

ondafly · 27-08-2021 11:53am

so only saw this thread by chance this morning. I have a package that left PortLaois on 19th of August from the US. Decided I would email them this morning to see what the hold up is. Well they've sent the package back because of incomplete customs information. Great - thanks for letting me know; I could have provided anything they wanted and I had zero issue paying duties etc. Appalling.

Calahonda52 · 27-08-2021 11:55am

https://revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/buying-of-goods-online-for-personal-use/buying-goods-from-outside-the-eu.aspx

blade1 · 27-08-2021 11:55am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117796982#Comment_117796982

My Amazon package arrived today without me having to pay second vat added that they were looking for.

The seller sent me the ioss number and I forwarded onto an post.

At least I got it but it's a pain in the ass.

On another note, my 6 fortnightly magazines that were sent back have been resent.

I mentioned about the ioss number to them so hopefully they have that on the package for an post to see.

I know people people aren't happy with an post but I think the sellers need to have all the necessary information on the packages from now on.

whiterebel · 27-08-2021 12:39pm

MOD - Put a stop to the bickering back and forward. Warnings have been issued already. Let's keep it on track, this thread is useful to people.

hammerheart · 27-08-2021 12:44pm

does anybody have solid information on what to do next.

My sender in Japan went to his post office to discuss this, he said:

“I went to the post office today and talked in detail.

Even after the new EU rules, if I send from Japan to Ireland by EMS, I don't need the TARIC code.

Besides, it was said that they would not be returned after arriving in Dublin.

Isn't the Dublin Post Office wrong?

There is no place to write the TARIC code on the EMS documents.

It is the official document of Japan Post.

The Irish post office must deliver it.”

In all of my emails with An Post’s woeful customer service, the only information they have told me is that the TARIC is missing. So who is right??

What do I need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again? The goods are expensive and as far as I can see, are now lost in limbo. Tracking last said “leaving port Laois” over a week ago. I can’t bring myself to contact an post again as I won’t learn anything new.

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 27-08-2021 1:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117810415#Comment_117810415

some posts are saying it's the taric

A friend said their ems parcel the new form or something theres only room for 4 items

I sent an email to An Post asking the same how do we avoid these things again. I had my parcel from Buyee sent back, my other order was running out of time so trying Fed Ex since the returned one was ems

hammerheart · 27-08-2021 1:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117810635#Comment_117810635

“Some are saying it’s the TARIC” yeah, I just think it’s mad how we are meant to figure this out for ourselves.

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 27-08-2021 1:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117810642#Comment_117810642

I thought maybe all the main POs woukd contact each other.

I can't find a single answer.

My DM said about my Japan parcel this but not what in particular to fix, afaik they mark everything as refused

This item has been processed to be returned to sender. The customs declaration which was provided electronically was insufficient. As we cannot amend or rectify any electronic customs data, the item must be returned as a result.

Please refer to the sender to arrange for the item to be re-issued with the correct customs information once it arrives back in the country of origin. This is beyond our control as customs and excise are a separate entity to An Post.

whiterebel · 27-08-2021 2:04pm

The Tariff code or TARIC is required for each individual item on an import or export. On imports it is used to determine the correct rate of duty, and if there are other duties applicable such as anti-dumping duties, excise duties etc. Also, it can give the correct VAT rates for books, clothing etc. It was usually the import agent that had to look this up in an 8inch thick book called the tariff book. You are supposed to be able to find a code to cover every single object in the world in it. It was quite a skill to be able to read it and find what you needed. Not much easier today, you just don't have to lug around the massive book, you can look it up online.

I would imagine that they are supposed to have the TARIC entered electronically from the originating country which would allow the automatic processing of the entry.

An Post seem to have taken the easy way out and just return everything, rather than roll their sleeves up for a couple of months, and do part of it manually, as they always did. We should all send emails to the CEO of An Post and let him know the effect this is having. I'm finding it hard enough to get stock to keep my business going, and then An Post send back packages to the UK and Australia. They wouldn't be so quick if their wages were in it......

MrCouperin · 27-08-2021 2:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117810635#Comment_117810635

I'm probably trying Fedex for my Zenmarket package too. I asked Fedex about it, and they said they could import the parcel fine. I'm going to email them the tariff codes just to be safe. If the package ever reaches Japan, that is, which it still hasn't after 12 days.

I'm going to make a formal complaint to An Post (I'd advise others here to do the same too), and I've pointed out to them that I'm An Post in future for all of my purchases from outside the EU. Maybe if we all point that out to them, they'll eventually realise they're losing customers. I'm sure the €3.50 fee mounts up eventually, so it'll hit them if they're losing revenue from that.

notahappycamper · 27-08-2021 3:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117809932#Comment_117809932

I got a response from the echargecommquery mailbox to say both items were returned to sender as insufficient electronic data was received!! They said each item is missing a Taric code. What is that? The declared value was marked. I would not have known about this until I queried it with them.

cnocbui · 27-08-2021 3:09pm

Fuc*ing An Post and Revenue!

"We could not deliver your post. We will try to return it to the sender."

Liars - they could have, but decided not to. They have utterly lost the plot. Given the situation with the highly protected and locked down pharmaceutical retail situation in this country, VRT, excise and such, It wouldn't surprise me if this isn't just another cute scheme by the Irish government to use the independence of tax policy to further exclude Irish consumers from the EU supposedly 'common market'.

Hippodrome Song Owl · 27-08-2021 3:28pm

So my replacement parcel (for my parcel which An Post returned to sender due to an insufficient customs declaration) has reached the Dublin Mail Centre today. This is where it all went wrong last time.

I know I need to pay VAT and Duty on it so they are supposed to send me that info now. How long should I wait before following up with them? Or is there anything I can do to try stop the same thing happening again?

Unfortunately, because the original parcel is now missing, and An Post couldn't give the sender any further information on why the customs declaration was deemed insufficient, and the sender confirmed the TARIC code was included last time, I fear this is not going to end well again as there was no way to know what needed to be rectified.

whiterebel · 27-08-2021 4:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117811380#Comment_117811380

I would contact them straight away.

Hippodrome Song Owl · 27-08-2021 4:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117811653#Comment_117811653

And would you recommend using email, chat or phone? Is there a specific address or number I should use? Thanks.

rf4c · 27-08-2021 4:36pm

Hope it works for you.

I've been emailing An Post Customer Services for a few eeks now and all I get is the auto acknowledgement.

They seem to have given up replying altogether!

I've done the same with Customs who have been very courteous and reply very quickly, however while they can find parcel references, they

can't effect any changes. It' seems An Post are controlling everything. They also prefer to blame Customs for everything!

I've written to the CEO David McRedmond twice. The first response was the usual "We're doing everything we can". When I wrote back to him

to address the query he left unanswered in my email, he simply ignored it.

I've had so much to do with a family emergency, I haven't done all I shold, but I'm planning to rectify that soon.

What I can't understand is that not one of the print/digital/broadcast media have picked up on this shambles which is clearly effecting thousands

of customers all over Ireland, and has even put many businesses in jeopardy.

Maybe a little bit of old fashioned writing to the news editors might help!

Sorry I haven't anything better to offer!

whiterebel · 27-08-2021 5:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117811662#Comment_117811662

AFAIK, there is only web chat.

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 27-08-2021 5:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117811662#Comment_117811662

You can use Twitter too but my last attempt took 6 days to get a reply. Chat this morning too 40 mins but pretty much the same reply to a different parcel

Darc19 · 27-08-2021 6:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117811717#Comment_117811717

When you go the sensationalist route, your correspondence is usually filed under "BIN"

It is not affecting "Thousands" - I think about 5 here. Any more and its purely a guess.

It is not putting "companies in jeopardy".

I've had one package rejected and sent back because information was not correct. But that's one out of about a dozen we receive every month - mostly samples of goods from USA & UK as tradeshows are still a no go area. But every package has the correct documentation as it is insisted upon now by all postal services.

Delivery times are also much improved at about 10 days from USA and 3/4 days from UK.

BTW - if you really think David Redmond read your email, you need to know that all his emails are filtered and you got a template reply from some junior intern

rf4c · 27-08-2021 6:44pm

Darc19

I'm glad you are experiencing improvements, however regarding your comments to me,

you're mistaken on a number of levels.

Firstly, there maybe only 5 here, I didn't count, but you don't take into account the many other forums

where the activity is far greater and reflects far more than those here. I wasn't counting, just making a point

that the problem is one affecting many, and this makes it a policy / operational failure on the part of An Post

rather than a simple customer service issue.

Secondly my emails were actual emails from Mr. McRedmond himself. there was no evidence of

a template structure unless it was a very very smart AI one! We exchanged a few emails, in which

my issue were discussed. Yes he does answer emails. Regretfully he has now joined his customer service colleagues

in ignoring them, evidenced by user comments too.

dxhound2005 · 27-08-2021 6:53pm

He might have found out about the civil court you are taking against An Post, and decided not to engage further.

rf4c · 27-08-2021 6:58pm

That's a fair point, but I have incurred substantial loss and therefore obliged to.

I would have preferred an amicable settlement /agreement, and even offered one

but there we are. The whole sorry mess we're all suffering is regrettable.

I hadn't considered your point but thank you for it.

pleasant Co. · 27-08-2021 10:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117811920#Comment_117811920

I don't get offered chat at all, just email or call, or I do web search and find their twitter @Postvox. I've got zero replies all week.

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 27-08-2021 10:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117813104#Comment_117813104

its only in office hours, I think I asked thd bot for customer service and it brought me to contact us and there was a bubble on the bottom right

pleasant Co. · 27-08-2021 10:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117813149#Comment_117813149

I've attempted office hours many times all week, also tried oscar the bot, help and help-support/Contact-Us. If I have the choice I'll avoid an post going forward as this is the 3rd time in 3 years I've had to get in touch with no response.

kev765 · 27-08-2021 10:42pm

Worth noting I think my ad blocker stopped the web chat from showing up before, so might be worth pausing that on the Contact-Us page and see if it shows up then.

pleasant Co. · 27-08-2021 10:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117813209#Comment_117813209

wondered that too, but turning it off and also trying another browser has left me feeling that they're uncontactable for some /

28-08-2021 12:08am

Interesting web chat today.

Tracking on package hasn't updated, no notification from Customs of any customs charges.

Contacted An Post via web chat (going through the motions really).

Customer service person first asked "what is it?" I said "a small package from Japan" and quoted the tracking number.

They replied "oh it has been returned to sender then".

I was abit taken aback given how fast they came back with that answer. They couldn't have possibly checked the tracking number before replying it had been sent back.

They also said Customs were giving out incorrect information (ie. lying) to customers, and would be "dealt with". Whatever that means.

Now we don't know what to do because we have nothing to show the shipping company to prove the item has been returned. Furious.

fritzelly · 28-08-2021 12:19am

Loathe as I am to say it maybe it would be interesting to contact Liveline if Joe Duffy doesn't have some personal stuff he wants to discuss - at least you might all get a a feel for if this is affecting a lot of people

For a chance of being discussed it would probably be good if a few of you contact them

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 28-08-2021 12:19am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117813183#Comment_117813183

I got on this morning around 10, had trouble other days, was using Firefox on mobile. Probably no help.

Stuff like this makes me miss Parcel Wizard

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 28-08-2021 12:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117813458#Comment_117813458

Could you have screen shot the conversation? I did although neither of the sellers I was buying from seemed to take time to read it.

28-08-2021 10:43am

I have screen shots but likewise don't know if the seller will accept this - I don't see how there is anything they can do until the item is returned to them. God knows how long that will take, seeing how slowly An Post is moving. Until then, the package is basically lost in limbo. Tracking still says "at Dublin Mail Centre" 10 days later.

What really annoys me is if the person on the An Post chat yesterday had instant access to information that the package has been returned, why hasn't the tracking updated to reflect that?

Hippodrome Song Owl · 28-08-2021 12:38pm

So I just spent 50 minutes waiting on the An Post chat to ask about my parcel from the UK which is in the Dublin Mail Centre - the previous time it was sent back due to an insufficient customs declaration.

I asked if it had been processed and if An Post had my details to send on the invoice for VAT and Duty.

I was told "it appears to be in a customs clearance delay and I would estimate it will be released and processed for delivery in the coming days. Unfortunately I cannot advise on a clearance date as An Post are totally separate to customs we have no control over anything to do with customs".

I asked him if he could check if there was any problem with the customs declaration this time or if it just hadn't been processed yet.

I was told "The customs declaration looks to be fine at the moment".

I also asked if he could see any information on what specifically was wrong with the customs declaration on my previous parcel. I was told "As we do not have access to the customs database we are unable to advise exactly what was missing". However when I contacted customs they told me to ask An Post as they have nothing to do with it.

So for the moment there appears to be nothing I can do to follow up what was wrong with the previous parcel declaration - the sender was told the exact same.

Who knows if I will ever get this item. Either Customs or An Post is lying though.

28-08-2021 1:15pm

That's exactly what I was told, almost word for word - "it looks fine to us" "it should be delivered in a few days" etc, then two days later they said my parcel was being returned. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hippodrome Song Owl · 28-08-2021 1:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117814728#Comment_117814728

Yes, I don't feel reassured at all. But it was advised here to contact them right away.

There's nothing more I can do.

OK, having looked on Twitter, it seems this issue is affecting hundreds of people there - so probably thousands in reality. This is clearly a massive issue. And it seems to be very common that Customs are saying it is entirely An Post's fault that goods are returned, while An Post say it's due to a legislation change from July. Customs told me that An Post are "erroneously interpreting" the legislation. Even from an environmental stand point (what must the carbon footprint of all these extra flights back and forth be), it cannot be something the state would support to return every item without any attempt to resolve the issue of jncomplete or insufficient information.

Johnstaf · 28-08-2021 3:43pm

Revenue.ie has an import guide linked below. The CN22 form shown in this guide only has space for a description of the contents of the shipment, with no mention of tariff codes. The CN23 form (for packages valued in excess of €300) does have a space for tariff codes, but this form should not have been necessary for my package. I thought following Revenue's advice should be enough.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/customs-traders-and-agents/documents/guide-to-importing-goods-through-the-post.pdf

Smart Bug · 28-08-2021 5:11pm

Hi folks. Wondering if anyone’s having problems with An Post returning USPS (or any other foreign origin) parcels? Been tracking a parcel I had coming to me since July - it sat in Dublin a month & was returned to the US last week!

mossie477 · 28-08-2021 5:12pm

Just came across this thread.. I've 5 packages in Dublin from the UK. I've been told all 5 are wrong. 4 have no electronic customs declaration and 1 the taric is incorrect..and all 5 are due to be returned

Isn't it such a pity revenue or an post whoever deals with these aren't able to read the labels affixed to the front of the package and determine charges from there..

The clown sorry customer service rep I've been dealing with started telling me it needed a cn23 (my items are no where near the value for a cn23)

I think they are just rejecting anything and everything because they don't want to do any real work.

Johnstaf · 28-08-2021 6:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117815947#Comment_117815947

The exact same thing happened to me. According to the thread linked below, USPS gives the impression that post has arrived in Dublin as soon as it reaches the last tracking point in the US, so there's no way to know if it ever actually arrived in Ireland. These are two separate issues, and I can't figure out a way to know which one has affected our post.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058110559/usps-to-ireland/p3

MrCouperin · 29-08-2021 10:07pm

I had a quick look at An Post's replies on Twitter, and there really are a lot of people having this same issue. Dozens of tweets about it over the past week alone, all receiving the same copy-and-paste response. Something really has to change with this, it's simply ridiculous that hundreds or possibly thousands of packages a month are returned from Ireland. I checked with friends of mine in other EU countries too, and they're all receiving packages from outside the EU fine, just like before July.

I can understand that introducing VAT on cheaper items might be intended to provide a level playing field for EU-based retailers, but making it literally impossible to buy from the majority of sellers outside the EU is nothing short of crazy. Unless you go with the vastly more expensive courier option, of course (which I have to do now).

29-08-2021 10:13pm

The end result will be more and more countries refusing to ship to Ireland at all, the way its going.

hammerheart · 29-08-2021 10:27pm

Thousands affected, still no statement from An Post.

hammerheart · 29-08-2021 10:28pm

Over a week on from my mail being returned to sender and I’m still none the wiser about what the problem was. That’s because there was no problem on my end.

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 29-08-2021 11:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117820966#Comment_117820966

I can imagine it but hope not

Bad enough trying to shop and certain sales seeing "US only" on 2nd hand sales or Etsy

brainiac · 30-08-2021 12:59pm

What method (if any) are people using to get in touch with customs to find out the missing information? eCommCharge email or is there a phone number that they're actually picking up?

I have a Chinese package that was apparently processed for sending back two weeks ago, but the tracking only shows that it will be returned this morning. I also have another package which was "sent back" but still has the sorting centre tracking since 27th July.

It's absolutely crazy, I have no problem paying VAT where due, just let us give you money!

rf4c · 30-08-2021 3:09pm

dph@revenue.ie

Hi

This is the Customs email for Dublin Parcel Hub.

Unlike An Post, they actually answere and do so within a day or two.

They are also very friendly and as helpful as they can be under their limited circumstances.

Best of luck

An Post returning packages from outside the EU-See 1st post

Comments